itibaren Țicleni, Rumanio
10 April 2009 I'm now more than mid-way through Kunal Basu's The Japanese Wife, another collection of short stories by another Bengali writer (they are India's most literate. Just think Tagore . . . ). This time the writer is based in Oxford -- the Indian writers' diaspora goes far and wide. I think the collection builds up and particularly enjoyed Lenin's Cafe as it brought the Asian expat life of Moscow alive -- I could just see the apartments of Vavilova where most of them live! & his story on Filipina maids in Hong Kong reflected much of my feelings. Basu is more than just a keen observer of human nature. He takes on the intricacies of the life of the expat in different settings and manages to make it real and not contrite. I can say this as I am familiar with a few of his settings. So far, I have found the title story the weakest. Perhaps the hand of a good editor would have made it a little better, and thus excellent. But it's still being made into a movie, so what do I know?
Entertaining, easy read.